Scars
by Gaga4Jeyna
Summary: Natasha returns from a mission with marked with a permanent memory and tries to push Clint away when he tries to help. Yeah that's a horrible summary, but please give it a chance.


**Hey guys! This isn't my first story, but it is my first Clintasha story, so please don't be too mad at me if I get something wrong.**

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Natasha heard a knock at her door. She quickly pulled her hood up and turned towards the wall. "Come in," she called.

The door opened to reveal Clint standing there with a worried scowl etched on his face and multiple nights of lost sleep were evident. He hadn't seen Natasha since she'd left for her mission two weeks ago. The moment she had stepped out, she'd been forced to go to the medical unit and remain under constant medical attention for four days even though she didn't need it. Even then, the doctors had made it clear that she was to have no visitors at all throughout those days. This was the first chance Clint had gotten to go see her.

"Nat," he greeted once he'd closed the door. Her slight nod of acknowledgment could barely be seen under her hood. "So," he said walking over to her. "How'd the mission go?" Clint plopped down on a chair waiting for her to answer.

Natasha made no move to turn around. She just sighed, rubbed her face, and mumbled something into her sleeves. "It was fine," she finally said after a pause.

"Nothing exciting, huh? Well at least take your hood off and turn around so I can see you," Clint said, rolling his eyes.

"There's nothing to see, Barton," she snapped back.

Clint pursed his lips, waiting a minute or two for her to give in, but Natasha remained unmoving, still facing the wall with her arms crossed. Her aloof behavior was starting to piss him off. "Nat, come on. We haven't seen each other in over two weeks! Why can't you just turn around? Are you hiding something from me? is that it?" he yelled. Natasha stiffened at his words, but still did nothing. Clint sighed and softened his voice a little. "Please, Tasha? I don't wanna stare at your back."

Natasha chuckled darkly at that. "If I turned around you're going to wish you were looking at my back," she retorted lifting a hand to gently rub her right cheek.

At this, Clint's blood boiled. "Cut the crap Natasha. Just take off the hood and look at me!"

Hearing him call her by her full name startled her. He rarely ever called her anything other than Nat or Tasha. She slowly reached up and pulled her hood down and turned her head towards him. "Happy?"

Clint nearly gasped aloud. Natasha looked exactly the same except for the three long gashes that were quickly becoming scars along the right side of her face.

His shocked expression just caused Natasha's scowl to deepen even more. "I warned you, didn't I?" Natasha said. "You saw me, now leave," she commanded before flipping her hood up and facing the wall again.

Clint didn't walk away. Instead he got up and gently turned her around, pulling her hood down while doing so. He gently ran a finger along the scars. "What happened Tasha?" he whispered.

Natasha swallowed. "The crazy moron had a pet tiger." Clint just nodded and continued to trace the scar. Natasha tried to focus on anything but the Clint's touch and the fact that it was causing her heart to race at a thousand miles an hour. _You're just nervous that he'll make fun of you, Natasha, that's all. It has nothing to do with the fact that he's touching you right now and is actually worried about you, _she thought.

Natasha took a deep breath, reminding herself that love was for children and that Clint was no more than her best friend. But as she looked in his eyes, even she couldn't be sure she believed that. The only thing she saw in Clint's eyes was concern. The longer she stared into them, the more she felt like she needed him, like parts of her heart would die if he left. _Is this what love feels like?_ she wondered. _Because if it is, I don't think I really mind. _And that was what scared her the most.

"Is your eye okay?" Clint asked, referring to the scar near the corner of her eye where the tiger had nearly taken her eyeball. Natasha just nodded, afraid that her voice would crack if she spoke.

After a couple more minutes, Natasha couldn't take it anymore. She threw her arms around Clint and buried her face into his shoulder, breathing in his scent. Clint instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "I missed you, Tash" he murmured into her hair. Still too scared to speak, Natasha just tightened her grip around Clint's neck. Then, taking advantage of the moment, Clint tilted her head up and kissed her. It was a quick, gentle kiss, but Clint pulled back quickly, knowing he had pushed his luck too far. To his surprise however, Natasha pulled him back down and kissed him again. This time it held much more passion than before with both of them pouring all their feelings into it.

When they had to break apart for air, Clint kissed each of Natasha's scars. "You can tell me anything Tasha," he told her gently. "Don't hide from me in the future, 'kay?"

Natasha just nodded again and melted into Clint's embrace again, finally accepting the fact the she was hopelessly in love with the archer. Whether she was acting like a child or not, she didn't care.

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**Please review and tell me what you think ;)**


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